Vacuum cleaning device

ABSTRACT

A vacuum cleaning device which includes a body and an extension pipe assembly. The body includes a fan motor that generates an inhalation force, a dust collecting unit that collects dust, and wheels for driving the body. The extension pipe assembly includes an inhalation nozzle that inhales air and an extension pipe that guides air inhaled through the inhalation nozzle. The extension pipe assembly is rotatably coupled to the body so that a load of the body and a load of the extension pipe assembly are dispersed into the wheels and the inhalation nozzle and are supported on a ground. Since a load of the vacuum cleaning device is not transferred to a user, usage conveniences can be improved, and an aesthetic sense can be improved with a simple and discriminative design.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2014-0033430, filed on Mar. 21, 2014 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a vacuum cleaning device having improved usage conveniences.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, a vacuum cleaning device is a home appliance that performs cleaning and includes a fan motor that generates an inhalation force, an inhalation nozzle that inhales air on a surface to be cleaned using the inhalation force generated by the fan motor, and a dust collecting unit that removes dust from air inhaled through the inhalation nozzle.

The vacuum cleaning device may be classified into a canister type vacuum cleaning device, an up-right type vacuum cleaning device, a handy type vacuum cleaning device, and an autonomous vacuum cleaning device according to a shape of the vacuum cleaning device.

In general, the canister type vacuum cleaning device includes a body including a fan motor, a dust collecting unit, and wheels for driving the body, an inhalation nozzle, an extension pipe that guides air inhaled through the inhalation nozzle, a handle, and an extension pipe assembly including a flexible hose that guides air in the extension pipe toward the body. The up-right type vacuum cleaning device includes an inhalation nozzle assembly including an inhalation nozzle and wheels and a body that includes a fan motor, a dust collecting unit, and a handle and that is rotatably coupled to the inhalation nozzle assembly.

In the canister type vacuum cleaning device, the heavy body needs to be dragged via the flexible hose during a cleaning operation, and when another work is performed during the cleaning operation, the extension pipe assembly needs to be put down the ground.

In the up-right type vacuum cleaning device, the body is rotated to be inclined toward the inhalation nozzle assembly during the cleaning operation, and a torque is generated in the body due to gravity such that a load of the body is transferred to a user.

SUMMARY

Therefore, it is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide a vacuum cleaning device in which a load of the vacuum cleaning device is supported on the ground and no other burden than a manipulation force is applied to a user and which has improved usage conveniences.

It is another aspect of the present disclosure to provide a vacuum cleaning device having an improved aesthetic sense resulting from a discriminative design.

Additional aspects of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure.

In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a vacuum cleaning device including: a body including a fan motor that generates an inhalation force, a dust collecting unit that collects dust, and wheels for driving the body; and an extension pipe assembly including an inhalation nozzle that inhales air and an extension pipe that guides air inhaled through the inhalation nozzle, the extension pipe assembly being rotatably coupled to the body so that a load of the body and a load of the extension pipe assembly are dispersed into the wheels and the inhalation nozzle and are supported on a ground.

The body may include a body hinge portion that protrudes so that the body can be coupled to the extension pipe assembly, and the extension pipe assembly may include an extension pipe hinge portion that protrudes so as to be adjacent to an axial direction of the body hinge portion.

The body hinge portion may include a hinge shaft accommodation portion that is formed to be recessed in the axial direction, and the extension pipe hinge portion may include a hinge shaft portion that protrudes in the axial direction so that the hinge shaft portion can be accommodated in the hinge shaft accommodation portion.

The vacuum cleaning device may further include a connection hose that perforates the extension pipe hinge portion so as to guide air of the extension pipe assembly toward the body.

The extension pipe hinge portion may include a host accommodation portion that accommodates the connection hose and a drawing port formed on a circumferential surface of the extension pipe hinge portion so that the connection hose of the hose accommodation portion can be drawn toward an outer portion of the extension pipe hinge portion.

The body may include an insertion port which is formed to correspond to the circumferential surface of the extension pipe hinge portion and through which the connection hose is inserted.

The extension pipe hinge portion may include a first channel formed in the extension pipe hinge portion so as to guide air of the extension pipe assembly toward the body, the first channel having an outlet formed at the hinge shaft portion.

The body hinge portion may include a second channel formed in the body hinge portion so as to communicate with the first channel, the second channel having an inlet formed at the hinge shaft accommodation portion.

The body may include an upper body coupled to the extension pipe assembly and a lower body that is coupled to the upper body so as to be moved forward and backward so that the body can be extended.

The body may include a wheel mounting portion on which the wheels are mounted and which has a shape of a ring that is perforated.

The body may further include a discharge port through which air from which dust is filtered by the dust collecting unit, is discharged, the disparage port being formed at an inner side of the wheel mounting portion so as to discharge air into an inner empty space of the wheel mounting portion.

The body may further include an air cleaning unit that is disposed between the dust collecting unit and the discharge port so as to purify air from which dust is filtered by the dust collecting unit, again.

The extension pipe assembly may further include a handle for user's manipulation.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a vacuum cleaning device including: a body having a fan motor that generates an inhalation force; an extension pipe assembly having an inhalation nozzle that inhales air using the inhalation force of the fan motor; and a hinge portion which rotatably couples the body and the extension pipe assembly to each other and through which a guide flow path on which air of the extension pipe assembly is guided toward the body, passes.

The hinge portion may include a body hinge portion that protrudes from the body and an extension pipe hinge portion that protrudes from the extension pipe assembly so as to be adjacent to an axial direction of the body hinge portion.

The guide flow path may include a connection hose that perforates one of the body hinge portion and the extension pipe hinge portion so as to guide air of the extension pipe assembly toward the body.

The guide flow path may include a first channel formed in the body hinge portion and a second channel formed in the extension pipe hinge portion so as to communicate with the first channel using a shaft coupling portion of the body hinge portion and the extension pipe hinge portion

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view for describing an exterior of a vacuum cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view for describing a main configuration of the vacuum cleaning device illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the vacuum cleaning device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates wheels and a discharge port of the vacuum cleaning device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view for describing a combined structure of an extension pipe assembly and a body of the vacuum cleaning device of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the vacuum cleaning device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of portion ‘A’ of FIG. 6 for describing the combined structure of the extension pipe assembly and the body of the vacuum cleaning device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view for describing a combined structure of the extension pipe assembly and the body of the vacuum cleaning device of FIG. 1, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIGS. 9 and 10 are views for describing an operation of the vacuum cleaning device of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view for describing an exterior of a vacuum cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view for describing a main configuration of the vacuum cleaning device illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a side view of the vacuum cleaning device of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 illustrates wheels and a discharge port of the vacuum cleaning device of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 4, a vacuum cleaning device 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a body 10 and an extension pipe assembly 50 that is rotatably coupled to the body 10.

The body 10 may be formed by assembling an upper body 20 and a lower body 40. The upper body 20 and the lower body 40 may be coupled to each other so as to be moved forward and backward. That is, the body 10 may be extended in a lengthwise direction or may be compressed. Although not shown in the drawing, the body 10 includes an elastic member (not shown) that elastically supports the upper body 20 and the lower body 40 so as to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined gap. The body 10 may be provided so that the upper body 20 and the lower body 40 are close to each other and then are restored to their original positions due to an elastic force of the elastic member.

Since, in this way, the body 10 may be extended and compressed, usage conveniences of the vacuum cleaning device 1 can be increased. This will be described later.

A fan motor 22 that generates an inhalation force and a dust collecting unit 21 that removes and collects dust from air inhaled by the inhalation force generated by the fan motor 22 may be disposed at the upper body 20. However, the fan motor 22 and the dust collecting unit 21 do not need to be disposed at the upper body 20 and may be disposed at the lower body 40, unlike the current embodiment.

An air cleaning unit 45 that may collect dust from air purified by the dust collecting unit 21 again may be disposed on a lower flow path of the dust collecting unit 21. The air cleaning unit 45 may include a sterilizing unit using atmospheric pressure plasma.

A wheel mounting portion 41 on which wheels 42 for driving the body 10 are mounted, may be disposed at a lower end of the lower body 40. The wheel mounting portion 41 may have a shape of a ring having an approximately middle portion that is perforated. The wheels 42 may be rotatably mounted on an approximately outer side of the wheel mounting portion 41 along a circumferential direction of the wheel mounting portion 41.

A discharge port 43 through which purified air after passing through the dust collecting unit 21 and the air cleaning unit 45 is discharged indoors again, may be disposed at an inner side of the wheel mounting portion 41.

The extension pipe assembly 50 may include an inhalation nozzle 60 that inhales air, an extension pipe 70 that is coupled to the inhalation nozzle 60 and guides air, a connection pipe 80 for combining the extension pipe assembly 50 and the body 10, and a handle 100 for user's manipulation.

The extension pipe 70 may be a pipe having rigidity, and a path (not shown) on which air is guided, may be formed in the extension pipe 70. The inhalation nozzle 60 and the extension pipe 70 may be coupled to each other so as to be rotatable with respect to each other.

The connection pipe 80 has a path (not shown) which is formed in the connection pipe 80 and on which air is guided. The connection pipe 80 is coupled to the extension pipe 70 and the body 10. The extension pipe 70 and the connection pipe 80 may be formed integrally with each other or may be separately formed and assembled.

The extension pipe assembly 50 and the body 10 may be rotatably coupled to each other using hinge portions 30 and 90. Thus, the vacuum cleaning device 1 has a shape with like two legs, and a load of the body 10 and a load of the extension pipe assembly 50 may be dispersed into the wheels 42 of the body 10 and the inhalation nozzle 60 of the extension pipe assembly 50 and may be supported on the ground.

Thus, the user is not required to devote his energies to bear out the weight of the vacuum cleaning device 1 except for a manipulation force used to manipulate the handle 100 so as to select a position of the inhalation nozzle 60. Thus, the user's usage conveniences can be increased.

Also, the hinge portions 30 and 90 of the vacuum cleaning device 1 according to the current embodiment of the present disclosure include a guide flow path on which air of the extension pipe assembly 50 is guided toward the body 10. Thus, the exterior of the vacuum cleaning device 1 is simplified, and there are no disturbances during a cleaning operation so that usage conveniences can be increased.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view for describing a combined structure of an extension pipe assembly and a body of the vacuum cleaning device of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the vacuum cleaning device of FIG. 1. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of portion ‘A’ of FIG. 6 for describing the combined structure of the extension pipe assembly and the body of the vacuum cleaning device of FIG. 1. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view for describing a combined structure of the extension pipe assembly and the body of the vacuum cleaning device of FIG. 1, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure

The hinge portions 30 and 90 that rotatably couple the extension pipe assembly 50 and the body 10 to each other may include a body hinge portion 30 disposed at the body 10 and an extension pipe hinge portion 90 disposed at the extension pipe assembly 50.

Each of the body hinge portion 30 and the extension pipe hinge portion 90 may have an approximately cylindrical shape. The body hinge portion 30 and the extension pipe hinge portion 90 may be disposed adjacent to each other in an axial direction.

The extension pipe hinge portion 90 may include a hinge shaft portion 91 that protrudes in the axial direction, and the body hinge portion 30 may include a hinge shaft accommodation portion 31 in which the hinge shaft portion 91 is accommodated. Thus, the hinge shaft portion 91 is inserted into the hinge shaft accommodation portion 31 so that the extension pipe hinge portion 90 and the body hinge portion 30 can be rotatably coupled to each other.

However, it is just one example that the hinge shaft portion 91 is disposed at the extension pipe hinge portion 90 and the hinge shaft accommodation portion 31 is disposed at the body hinge portion 30. Embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto, and the hinge shaft portion 91 may be disposed at the body hinge portion 30, and the hinge shaft accommodation portion 31 may be disposed at the extension pipe hinge portion 90.

Support members 121 and 122 that support the extension pipe hinge portion 90 and the body hinge portion 30 so that the extension pipe hinge portion 90 and the body hinge portion 30 are not detached from the body 10, may be disposed at an outer side of the extension pipe hinge portion 90 and at an outer side of the body hinge portion 30. The support member 121 may be fixed to the connection pipe 80, and the support member 122 may be fixed to the upper body 20.

The vacuum cleaning device 1 may have a connection hose 110 that guides air of the extension pipe assembly 50 toward the body 10. The connection hose 110 may be provided to pass through the extension pipe hinge portion 90 and to be connected to the body 10, i.e., the upper body 20.

To this end, the extension pipe hinge portion 90 may include a hose accommodation portion 92 that accommodates the connection hose 110 and a drawing port 95 that is formed on a circumferential surface of the extension pipe hinge portion 90 so that the connection hose 110 can be drawn from the hose accommodation portion 92.

Also, an insertion port 23 through which the connection hose 110 is inserted into a curved surface corresponding to the circumferential surface of the extension pipe hinge portion 90 may be formed at the body 10, i.e., the upper body 20.

Through this configuration, air of the extension pipe assembly 50 may be guided toward the body 10 via the extension pipe hinge portion 90.

As another embodiment in which air of the extension pipe assembly 50 flows into the body 10 via the hinge portions 30 and 90, as illustrated in FIG. 8, a first channel 296 that guides air may be disposed at an extension pipe hinge portion 290, and a second channel 236 that communicates with the first channel 296 may be disposed at a body hinge portion 230.

In this case, the first channel 296 and the second channel 236 may communicate with each other using a shaft coupling portion of the extension pipe hinge portion 290 and the body hinge portion 230. Here, the shaft coupling portion means a hinge shaft portion 291 of the extension pipe hinge portion 290 and a hinge shaft accommodation portion 231 of the body hinge portion 230.

That is, an outlet 297 of the first channel 296 may be formed at the hinge shaft portion 291, and an inlet 237 of the second channel 236 may be formed at the hinge shaft accommodation portion 231.

Through this structure, even when the hinge shaft portion 291 and the hinge shaft accommodation portion 231 are rotated, the first channel 296 and the second channel 236 communicate with each other without any change so that air and dust of the extension pipe assembly 50 can smoothly flow into the body 10.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are views for describing an operation of the vacuum cleaning device of FIG. 1. The operation of the vacuum cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

The extension pipe assembly 50 and the body 10 of the vacuum cleaning device 1 may be rotated with respect to each other so that an angle θ between the extension pipe assembly 50 and the body 10 varies between a minimum angle θ1 and a maximum angle θ2.

The angle θ becomes the minimum angle θ1 while the vacuum cleaning device 1 is kept, so that an area of the vacuum cleaning device 1 can be minimized.

When the vacuum cleaning device 1 is being used, the extension pipe assembly 50 and the body 10 may be rotated with respect to each other so that the angle θ is repeatedly increased or decreased between the minimum angle θ1 and the maximum angle θ2.

In particular, when the user wants to move the inhalation nozzle 60 forward, the user has only to press the handle 100 from upward to downward in a direction of gravity so that the user can move the inhalation nozzle 60 forward using a small force.

Also, when the user wants to move the inhalation nozzle 60 backward, the user exerts the manipulation force on the handle 100 so that the body 10 is extended due to the elastic force of the elastic member (not shown) disposed at the body 10, the angle θ is decreased and the inhalation nozzle 60 can be moved backward. Thus, the user can move the inhalation nozzle 60 backward using a small force.

As described above, according to the idea of the present disclosure, a load of a body including a dust collecting unit and a fan motor and a load of an extension pipe assembly including an inhalation nozzle and an extension pipe are dispersed into wheels of the body and the inhalation nozzle of the extension pipe assembly and are supported on the ground so that no burden resulting from the weight of the vacuum cleaning device is applied to a user and usage conveniences are improved.

In addition, this structure is simple and has a discriminative design so that an aesthetic sense can be improved.

Although a few embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A vacuum cleaning device comprising: a body comprising a dust collecting unit that collects dust, and wheels for driving the body; and an extension pipe assembly comprising an inhalation nozzle that inhales air and an extension pipe that guides air inhaled through the inhalation nozzle, the extension pipe assembly being rotatably coupled to the body so that a load of the body and a load of the extension pipe assembly are dispersed into the wheels and the inhalation nozzle and are supported on a ground.
 2. The vacuum cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the body further comprises: a body hinge portion that protrudes so that the body is capable of being coupled to the extension pipe assembly, and the extension pipe assembly comprises an extension pipe hinge portion that protrudes so as to be adjacent to an axial direction of the body hinge portion.
 3. The vacuum cleaning device of claim 2, wherein: the body hinge portion comprises a hinge shaft accommodation portion that is formed to be recessed in the axial direction, and the extension pipe hinge portion comprises a hinge shaft portion that protrudes in the axial direction so that the hinge shaft portion is capable of being accommodated in the hinge shaft accommodation portion.
 4. The vacuum cleaning device of claim 3, further comprising a connection hose that perforates the extension pipe hinge portion so as to guide air of the extension pipe assembly toward the body.
 5. The vacuum cleaning device of claim 4, wherein the extension pipe hinge portion further comprises a host accommodation portion that accommodates the connection hose and a drawing port formed on a circumferential surface of the extension pipe hinge portion so that the connection hose of the hose accommodation portion is capable of being drawn toward an outer portion of the extension pipe hinge portion.
 6. The vacuum cleaning device of claim 5, wherein the body comprises an insertion port which is formed to correspond to the circumferential surface of the extension pipe hinge portion and through which the connection hose is inserted.
 7. The vacuum cleaning device of claim 3, wherein the extension pipe hinge portion further comprises a first channel formed in the extension pipe hinge portion so as to guide air of the extension pipe assembly toward the body, the first channel having an outlet formed at the hinge shaft portion.
 8. The vacuum cleaning device of claim 7, wherein the body hinge portion further comprises a second channel formed in the body hinge portion so as to communicate with the first channel, the second channel having an inlet formed at the hinge shaft accommodation portion.
 9. The vacuum cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the body further comprises an upper body coupled to the extension pipe assembly and a lower body that is coupled to the upper body so as to be moved forward and backward so that the body is capable of being extended.
 10. The vacuum cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the body further comprises a wheel mounting portion on which the wheels are mounted and which has a shape of a ring that is perforated.
 11. The vacuum cleaning device of claim 10, wherein the body further comprises a discharge port through which air from which dust is filtered by the dust collecting unit, is discharged, the disparage port being formed at an inner side of the wheel mounting portion so as to discharge air into an inner empty space of the wheel mounting portion.
 12. The vacuum cleaning device of claim 11, wherein the body further comprises an air cleaning unit that is disposed between the dust collecting unit and the discharge port so as to purify air from which dust is filtered by the dust collecting unit, again.
 13. The vacuum cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the extension pipe assembly further comprises a handle for user's manipulation.
 14. The vacuum cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the body further comprises a fan motor that generates an inhalation force.
 15. A vacuum cleaning device comprising: a body having a fan motor that generates an inhalation force; an extension pipe assembly having an inhalation nozzle that inhales air using the inhalation force of the fan motor; and a hinge portion which rotatably couples the body and the extension pipe assembly to each other and through which a guide flow path on which air of the extension pipe assembly is guided toward the body, passes.
 16. The vacuum cleaning device of claim 15, wherein the hinge portion comprises a body hinge portion that protrudes from the body and an extension pipe hinge portion that protrudes from the extension pipe assembly so as to be adjacent to an axial direction of the body hinge portion.
 17. The vacuum cleaning device of claim 16, wherein the guide flow path comprises a connection hose that perforates one of the body hinge portion and the extension pipe hinge portion so as to guide air of the extension pipe assembly toward the body.
 18. The vacuum cleaning device of claim 16, wherein the guide flow path comprises a first channel formed in the body hinge portion and a second channel formed in the extension pipe hinge portion so as to communicate with the first channel using a shaft coupling portion of the body hinge portion and the extension pipe hinge portion.
 19. A vacuum cleaning device comprising: a body comprising a dust collecting unit that collects dust; an extension pipe assembly having an inhalation nozzle that inhales air; and a hinge portion which rotatably couples the body and the extension pipe assembly to each other, wherein the body and the extension pipe assembly are configured to rotate about the hinge portion between a predetermined minimum angle and a predetermined maximum angle. 